Ex appeal: Survey reveals half of single women have sex with ex boyfriends while looking for love

We really DO need to beware the ex: Half of single women confess to having sex with former partners while looking for love47 percent of single women regularly have sex with their ex partners'Missing intimacy' is the most common reason, followed by wanting to restart a relationshipFacebook flirting and having too much to drink also cited as triggers

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UPDATED:

12:45 GMT, 30 October 2012

Almost half of single women have regularly had sex with an ex boyfriend while looking for a new lover, a new survey has revealed.

The poll of 1,000 men and women found that the majority of girls who resort to sex with the ex do so because they 'miss physical intimacy.'

A further 31 percent admitted it was because they hoped to reignite a relationship with a former flame.

Former flames: Cheryl and Ashley Cole (left) and Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher (right) in happier times

An additional 43 percent of women also admitted to regularly sleeping with an ex while on the lookout for a new partner. An even higher 47 percent of men confessed to doing the same.

And they aren't alone. A-listers Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher famously reunited after their divorce before going their separate ways again, as did Cheryl Cole and her former husband, Chelsea footballer, Ashley.

Dating site SeekingArrangement.com which conducted the research said that the top five reasons for getting back into bed with an ex-partner also included having too much to drink, flirting on Facebook and other social media sites, and bumping into each other on a night out.

One of the women polled, Nikki Howarth, 26, said she had slept with previous boyfriends while she was single – but warned that it can lead to more heartbreak.

She said: 'It’s something most girls have done. They say, ‘never go back’ but it can be difficult when you have been very close to a guy and you are struggling to find someone new.

'I have sometimes regretted doing it in the past – particularly when I have been keener on the guy than he was on me.

Beer goggles 26 percent of women said having too much to drink was the reason they reunited with their ex

RELIGHT MY FIRE: TOP FIVE REASONS FOR REVISITING AN OLD FLAMEMissed physical intimacy.Wanted to re-start the relationship.Things went too far after too much to drink.Began flirting again on Facebook or email. Bumped into each other on a night out and ‘it seemed like a good idea’

'Sleeping with them again just leads to more heartache – because there is no chance of the relationship working out in the long-term and you are just left to reflect on what you have lost.'

Nikki, who is currently dating a wealthy American businessman, said revisiting past relationships can work if both partners want the same thing.

'If no one is getting hurt on either side, I don’t see what is wrong with ‘sex with the ex’,' she said.

'It can be a lot of fun – who doesn’t want a bit of physical intimacy when they have been single for a while.

'You often go to the same pubs and clubs as your ex because that is where you met in the first place.

'If you part amicably there is no reason why you shouldn’t both end up going to the same places again. That’s when can end up in bed again after a night out – the beer goggles have a lot to do with it!'